What are the players saying at the 143rd Open Championship? Many have talked about putting a 2-iron in their bag to fight the windy conditions, and how the course is playing compared to the ’06 Open at Hoylake. On Thursday, we will see which course strategy works the best, but for now, it’s all about the quotes.

Martin Kaymer is having a tremendous season with wins at The Players and the U.S. Open. His country also just won the World Cup, and Kaymer would like to emulate the German National Team’s ability to stay patient:

“They were a good, brave, strong team, and they just delivered. And there was nothing about any secrets, just play your game, use the opportunities that you get. Don’t make any silly mistakes and wait. That’s all you can do. Every team had a bad day here and there. Germany, they didn’t play great against I think it was America. They didn’t play great, but they still got away with it. And that’s the same in the golf tournament. You have a day where you don’t play that super good, but you hang in there, and you play something around par that doesn’t get you out of the tournament. Then you wait for that amazing day that they had against Brazil, and that you need during the golf tournament to win it. So at the U.S. Open, I had two of those, the first two days, it was fairly lucky. At The PLAYERS, I had the first day where I shot 9-under par. That was that special day that they had against Brazil.”

Graeme McDowell has a sense of humor, but I’m not sure he was joking when he spoke about winning The Open Championship:

“I think The Open Championship is a special one. There’s no doubt. Augusta has that kind of same mystique and tradition as well because of the venue and what it creates, and walking in the footsteps of the greats. But The Open Championship seems to maintain that mystique as it goes around to various golf courses. It maintains that kind of pride, tradition, and history all of the above, and the Claret Jug is a bit special. I’d give my left arm for the Claret Jug. I would, actually. That would be the end of my career, but it would be a nice way to go.”

Bubba Watson loves playing St. Andrews:

“There’s a lot of history behind that golf course. It’s fun getting back there. Next year it will be a treat. No matter how you play, it’s still a treat to play St. Andrews.”

Five-time Open champion Tom Watson will play his final Open Championship at St. Andrews in 2015. He recalled when he played with Jack Nicklaus in Nicklaus’ final Open at St. Andrews in 2000:

“I was crying like a baby going up — off the tee, I started bawling. And Jack was — here’s the greatest player in the game, he’s finishing his career, and he meant a great deal to me. He was the man I wanted to beat, but more importantly we became friends and confidants, and it was a special time, a very special time. He told me on the last hole, he said, “Now, you’ve got to concentrate on this putt here. Stop crying, you’ve got to make the cut here.” I did.”

“One of the things that I stressed is that we have to treat the Claret Jug with reverence and respect that it deserves, and only put good stuff in it. There was nothing to be — no bad stuff was allowed. And each person that I brought it to had a different definition of what the good stuff was. But one of my friends, one of my friends, their definition of the good stuff was a bottle of 1990 Romanée-Conti wine. Now, I didn’t know what this was when I drank it. I just knew that it was really good, and that was the best bottle that was ever put in there.”

Tiger Woods knows what Phil is talking about. He mentioned people like to take pictures with the Green Jacket, but the Claret Jug has a different purpose:

“People wanted to take pictures, but everyone wanted to slam back a couple out [of] the Jug.”